David Njoku ( ; born July 10, 1996) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense (sports), offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide ...

for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He played college football at Miami (FL). He was drafted by the Browns in the first round of the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia ...

Early years

Njoku is one of nine children born to Nigerian parents who immigrated to the United States. He attended Cedar Grove High School in

Cedar Grove, New Jersey Cedar Grove is a township in north central Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 12,411, reflecting an increase of 111 (+0.9%) from the 12,300 counted in the 2000 Census, ...

. During his career, he had 76 receptions for 1,794 yards and 19

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Americ ...

. A 3-star tight end recruit, Njoku committed to Miami (FL) to play college football over offers from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifi ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

, and

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called church (building), churches), Hindui ...

. Njoku also competed in the high jump in high school, winning the national championship at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor his senior year in 2014.

College career

After redshirting his first year at Miami in 2014, Njoku played in all 13 games with four starts in 2015 and had 21 receptions for 362 yards and one touchdown. In 2016, he had 43 receptions for 698 yards and eight touchdowns. After the season, Njoku decided to forgo his remaining two years of eligibility and enter the

College statistics

''Source:''

Professional career

Njoku received an invitation to the NFL Combine and completed all of the combine and positional drills. In addition, he attended Miami's Pro Day and opted to again perform the vertical jump, broad jump, short shuttle, 40-yard dash, 20-yard dash, and 10-yard dash. NFL draft experts and analysts projected Njoku to be selected in the first round of the draft. He was ranked the third best tight end available in the draft by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice ...

'' and was ranked the second best tight end by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, NFL analyst

Mike Mayock Michael Francis Mayock (born August 14, 1958) is a former American football executive and former player who served as the General manager (American football), general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) from 20 ...

, and NFL analyst

Bucky Brooks William Eldridge "Bucky" Brooks Jr. (born January 22, 1971) is a sportswriter and former professional American football player. He played for five National Football League (NFL) teams in a five-year career, primarily as a kick returner. Brooks i ...

. The

selected Njoku in the first round (29th overall) of the

. He was the third tight end to be selected in the draft.

2017 season

On June 15, 2017, the Cleveland Browns signed Njoku to a fully guaranteed, four-year, $9.52 million contract which included a signing bonus of $5.06 million. On September 10, Njoku made his NFL debut in a 21–18 loss to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Stee ...

. He had two receptions for 20 yards. in the Week 2 game against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

, he had three receptions for 27 yards and his first NFL touchdown in the 24–10 loss. He finished his rookie year with 32 catches for 386 yards and four touchdowns.

2018 season

In 2018, Njoku entered the season as the Browns starting tight end. He played in all 16 games with 14 starts, recording 56 catches for 639 yards and four touchdowns.

2019 season

In Week 2 of the 2019 season, Njoku was upended and landed on his head and left the game against the New York Jets due to a concussion. However, later in the week, it was revealed that Njoku suffered a broken wrist on the same play. He was placed on injured reserve on September 20, 2019. He was designated for return from injured reserve on November 20, 2019, and began practicing with the team again. He was activated on December 7, 2019.

2020 season

On April 27, 2020, the Browns exercised the fifth-year option on Njoku's contract. Njoku was placed on injured reserve on September 14, 2020, with a knee injury, a day after he posted 3 catches for 50 yards and a touchdown against the

. He was activated on October 10.

2021 season

In Week 5 against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

, Njoku caught 7 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown, with the score coming off a 71 yard catch and run. The Browns would go on to lose 47-42 in a thriller.

2022 season

The Browns placed the franchise tag on Njoku on March 7, 2022. On May 27, 2022, Njoku signed a four-year, $56.75 million contract extension.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Njoku, David 1996 births Living people African-American players of American football American football tight ends American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Cleveland Browns players Miami Hurricanes football players People from Cedar Grove, New Jersey Players of American football from New Jersey Sportspeople from Essex County, New Jersey 21st-century African-American sportspeople